Whiskey Hangover
by AshleyTrecartin
Summary: Jayne wakes up to find a naked River in his bed. How did she get there, why wasn't he more upset? When Mal gives them a job things start to happen that set a series of events in motion that neither of them want to stop.


_Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand.  
I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me.  
Take me out, to the black, tell 'em I ain't coming back.  
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me.  
There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity. You can't take the sky from me._

Jayne sighed deeply and stretched out as he came awake. Vaguely he became aware of the painful throbbing in his head. That had been one hell of a party last night. One of Mal and Zoe's war buddies had contacted them. He'd become mayor over a medium size town on some backwater moon. He'd been having some trouble with bandits and asked if Mal wouldn't mind offering a hand. After they had taken care of the problem the whole damn town had thrown a part in their honor. Jayne couldn't remember the last time he'd drank that much. He couldn't remember a damn thing about last night. So when he moved to roll over and found he couldn't because there was another body pressed against his, he was all manner of confused.

Groggily he pulled back the sheet to see what kind of tasty he'd had fun with in his drunken state. Who he saw was _not_ who he was expecting. His brain momentarily short circuited.

There was a _very_ naked River pressed tightly against his own _very_ naked body. "_Yeh Lu Jwo Dou Luh Jwohn Whei Jian Guay_!" Jayne jumped in the bed, banging his head against some of his guns. "What in the good gorram hell?"

River whined and reached out for the sheet that he'd pulled nearly off her body in his panic. Her slender fingers wrapped around the edge of the sheet and pulled it back up over her body. "Jayne's too loud, head hurts, consumed too much alcohol." She rolled over, completely calm, and snuggled herself against his body. "Yell later."

Jayne blinked at her in disbelief. Hell he'd been expecting her to scream or try to kill him, not press her naked body against his and go back to sleep. He wanted to know what the hell happened last night. More importantly he wanted to know who the hell knew about what happened. There was no way in the Verse Simon or Mal would have let this happen, so they couldn't know, not yet. "_Wo Pi Gu Cao_."

River groaned and sat up, keeping the sheet pulled up to cover her naked breasts. "No one is aware; everyone was too drunk last night. They're all still asleep." She ran a hand through her hair and looked around the floor for the dress she'd been wearing last night.

Jayne breathed a heavy sigh of relief and relaxed a bit. At least no one knew. As long as they didn't find out, he wouldn't be thrown out of any airlocks any time soon. "Did we fuck?" he asked as River leaned over the side of the bed and pulled her dress off the floor.

"Yes." She pulled it over her head and let the sheet fall as the dress covered her up. "It was very satisfying, for both of us." River climbed from the bed and stretched her back, her bare toes stretching wide on the threadbare carpet on the floor. She smiled at him and cracked her neck. "You're very good in bed, Jayne."

"Uhm…thanks?" He caught the pants she threw at him and quickly pulled them on. "You ain't gonna tell no one 'bout this, are ya?"

River shook her head. "No, I won't tell anyone." She headed for the ladder that led out of his bunk. "But Jayne?"

He looked over at her, watching her as she reached up to grab the ladder. "What?"

"I wouldn't mind doing that again." She gave him a wickedly naughty smirk as she climbed the ladder, leaving him alone.

"_Wo Cao_."

After his shocking and slightly disturbing wake-up call this morning, Jayne had skipped breakfast, not really trusting himself to behave normally around everyone while River was there. Instead, he stayed in his bunk until he was sure the others would be doing other things, too preoccupied to pay much attention to him. So, he grabbed his weights and headed down to the cargo bay where he kept his bench press. No one was around, but that was okay, he didn't need a spotter and he preferred to be alone at this particular time. He lay back and reached up, grabbing the bar between the heavy weights and took a deep steadying breath before he started lifting them up and down in a slow, steady rhythm. The slow burn in the muscles as they contracted and recoiled under the strain of holding the heavy load cleared his mind and relaxed him. Now if only he could get the image of a very naked, very sexy River Tam out of his head.

xXx

River sat on one of the catwalks above the cargo bay and watched Jayne as he worked out. She liked watching him, could greatly appreciate the way his muscles moved under the skin as he lifted the heavy metal up and down. Ever since the events on Miranda with the Alliance and the reavers River had gotten much better. She was always lucid; she was in her own mind. She didn't have those moments where she went ape-shit crazy, at least, not when it wasn't needed. They got into a fight and River was always there to back them up, using the training the Alliance had instilled in her to help get her crew out of messed. Simon hadn't been happy about her going out on jobs at first, but once he understood that she could handle herself he lightened up about it.

She and Jayne had also gotten closer. He trusted her now. Part of that was because he was terrified of her, scared of what she would do if she ever got angry with him. He knew she could take out a hoard of reavers by herself, and that worried him a bit. However, he also respected the hell out of her. She could handle herself like no other in any kind of fight. He thought of her as a warrior, a fighter, a mercenary. She often caught him looking at her and she read him, just out of curiosity. He thought she was sexy as hell, a dangerous animal that was to be treated with respect. He thought she moved with the grace of a jungle cat, but twice as deadly.

River found that interesting. She thought of him much the same way. She never said anything to any of the others. She knew they would try to keep her away from Jayne. They'd pair her up with Mal on jobs, or Zoe. She liked working with Jayne, they worked better together. She also liked spending time with him. Ever since they became friends, things had been great between them. She wouldn't tell the crew and jeopardize that.

Last night, she'd seen an opportunity and had taken it. More than once she'd found herself wanting to know what Jayne was like in bed, and according to his thoughts when he looked at her, he wanted to know the same regarding her. He'd been drunk last night, so had everyone else, including herself. But she hadn't been so drunk that she didn't know what she was doing. True, it was probably wrong of her to take advantage of Jayne like that, but she knew if she didn't make a move last night, she'd never get the opportunity again.

So, when Jayne had been past the point of reasonable thinking, she'd sat on his lap, whispered in his ear that she wanted him to take her back to the ship and fuck her senseless, and he did. River hadn't been a virgin for a while, about a week or so after Miranda she'd found a nice guy on some backwater moon and let him take her to bed for the night. Simon had nearly had a heart attack when he'd found out, but she brushed it off. She was an adult by all legal standings, and she was aware of her own mind now.

Her few encounters with the local boys from moons or planets they visited had been nothing compared to the raw sexual prowess that was Jayne Cobb. He'd made stars dance in her eyes and supernovas explode inside of her very soul. It had been better than anything she'd ever felt before, and she couldn't wait to do it again. From the way Jayne's thoughts were heading, neither could he.

"River?" She spun on her heels with the grace of a dancer when Inara walked out of her shuttle. "What are you up to _Mei-Mei_?"

"Watching Jayne," she answered truthfully. "I like watching him." River didn't have to look at Inara to know that the companion didn't particularly like that idea. She didn't care too much.

"There you are." River and Inara looked to the other side of the catwalk as Mal came out of the cockpit. "River, we're getting ready to land, why don't you head up and get us on the ground while I get the others to go over the job?"

"_Kan Wo Men Zen Me Si Ba_," River mumbled, heading up to the bridge.

"A little bit of a positive attitude might be nice," Mal called behind her. River smiled, ignoring him and taking a seat in the pilot's chair, getting Serenity ready to hit atmo. She hadn't read Mal, so she had no idea what the job entailed yet. She liked it better that way. She was in the process of landing when Mal entered with Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee, and Simon. Inara usually stayed behind to look after the baby. "How're we doin' little albatross?" Mal asked, leaning over the back of the chair.

River landed the ship without so much as a shudder from the shock of hitting solid ground. "Ready," she answered looking up at him.

"That's my girl," he grinned, kissing her head. They turned and faced the others. "This ain't gonna be an easy job. It's gonna be like tryin' to find a needle in a haystack the size of a small moon while avoidin' a whole mess of Alliance fire."

Jayne groaned. "Gorram it Mal, can't we ever get an easy job?"

"That's easier said than done." Mal sighed and crossed his arms. "The client's name is Hans Jackson. He runs a small bar about ten miles from here. He's been havin' some trouble with local gangsters. He asked if we'd take care of it. If this job goes smooth we're looking at five-hundred credits a piece, plus a full load of cargo worth twice that."

"So what's the plan, Sir?"

"Pose as couples, the gangsters don't like new faces, tend to kill them. We go in as couples, start a fight, kill the gangsters with as few bystander casualties as possible," River answered, reading Mal. She looked up at him. "_Whai W'rin Bu Jwo_."

"She's got a point," Jayne grunted. "How many men are we lookin' at?"

Mal sighed. "Hans reckons 'bout ten, that's what he usually sees. So, four of us, ten of them, I like those numbers." He looked down at River. "Though, I reckon with River and Jayne it's more like six against ten."

River grinned and looked over at Jayne, trying not to read him but when their eyes met and his flashed with something she couldn't help herself. Carefully she delved into his mind and was shocked at what she saw there. He was picturing them, back-to-back in a gun fight, reading cues from each other. He thought it was the sexiest damn thing. His mind flashed to them in a shower somewhere, naked, bodies pressed against each other, tongues licking and tasting, going wild, her legs wrapped around his waist as he—

River quickly looked away, breaking the connection with his mind. Jayne was just as much of an animal as she was, and that was what was so dangerous about him, what excited her the most.

"We'll go in separately, we've got two mules now, Jayne and River you'll go in first, half an hour later, Zoe and I will follow." Mal looked over at Kaylee and Simon. "You two will ride in with Zoe and me, you'll drop us off about a mile from the bar then swing around to the location of the cargo. Load up the mule and get it back to the ship."

Simon nodded and looked over at River. She ignored the worried look he gave her. He knew she could handle herself and she didn't feel it needed to be justified every time she went out on a job. She was almost twenty, she was earning her place on the ship, and he knew that so she paid him no mind. If there was anyone he should be worried about it was Kaylee.

xXx

Jayne climbed into the mule and reached out a hand to pull River into it before settling himself into the driver's seat. He had mixed feelings about being alone with River for the better half of an hour. On one hand he knew she'd mostly keep to herself when there was no need for talk, something he was more than grateful for, she could handle herself in a sticky situation, and she could hold her alcohol pretty damn well for a ninety pound little think. On the other hand he was still a bit shaken up over waking up with her naked body pressed against his and learning that they'd slept together and he couldn't remember a damn thing about it. "You ready?" he asked, firing up the mule.

"Are you?" She looked at him and something in her eyes told Jayne she was reading him.

"You should know, you're in my head." He drove the mule off the ship and headed for the town ten miles away. "You wanna tell me what exactly happened last night?"

"After the job, you need your head as clear as possible. Fornication details will not help that." She pulled on a pair of sunglasses and sat back to enjoy the ride.

Jayne sighed and pulled his own over his eyes. He didn't know how he felt about that answer. He was grateful she hadn't said anything to anyone about it though. As far as he was concerned Mal and Simon didn't need to know.

Once they reached the town Jayne navigated them to the back of the bar and parked the mule before jumping out. He reached up and took hold of River's waist, helping her down. They walked around the front of the bar, removing their sunglasses as they walked inside. Jayne led River over to a table in the back corner so he could watch everything that happened in the bar. It didn't surprise him that gangsters had singled out this town, or this bar for that matter. The place looked worse than that whore house they'd helped out a while back.

"Can I get you anything love?" Jayne looked up at the somewhat attractive waitress who had sauntered over to them.

"Two glasses and a bottle of whiskey," he grunted, pulling out enough credits and passing them to her. As soon as she walked away River broke out in a fit of giggles. "What's so gorram funny?"

"Whiskey is what we drank last night," she answered with a sexy smirk.

Jayne smirked as the waitress brought the bottle and glasses over. He poured a little out for the both of them and looked River in the eyes. "Hair of the dog that bit me," he toasted, quickly swallowing the burning liquid. He smirked as River swallowed her own and refilled their glasses.

He let River pour the drinks as he looked around the bar, taking in the patrons and sizing them up. Not a damn one of them looked like they'd be worth anything in a gun fight. Hell, half of them looked like they were about to drop dead at any moment.

Jayne sighed and grabbed the whiskey, ready to pour himself another drink but River grabbed his arm, stopping him. He cut his eyes to her, raising a questioning eye brow. "They're here."

He assumed she meant Mal and Zoe but when a group of about twelve men walked into the bar he started to worry a bit. These were the men they were here to take care of. So if they were here, where the hell were Mal and Zoe? He poured himself another drink and glanced at River. It was show time.

She subtly moved herself closer to his side, close enough that Jayne could drape his arm around her. She turned her head to whisper in his ear, but to anyone else it looked like she might be kissing his neck. "Twelve me in here, there are another eight outside. All of them are armed and I can't sense Mal and Zoe."

Jayne sighed and turned his head, burying it in her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair. She smelt like rain water and whiskey and he found that sexy as hell. "Do you think we can handle them?"

River nodded against his shoulder. Jayne pulled back and quickly took another long pull of the whiskey as he eyed their targets. Jayne recognized killers when he saw them. He knew his own kind. These men were evil, nasty, sons of bitches. They had murder in their eyes. The leader looked at them and an evil, deadly smirk broke out over his face as he crossed to them.

Jayne felt River's hand tighten down on his arm, her little nails biting into his skin through the jacket he was wearing. He didn't doubt for a second that she was reading some more than nasty thoughts, most directed towards her.

"Haven't seen the likes of you 'round these parts 'efore. Ya'll new?"

Jayne looked up at him, sizing him up. He looked pretty clean compared to everyone else on this godforsaken rock. He was carrying a fairly nice piece on his hip too. "Just passin' through an' felt like a quiet drink," Jayne said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.

"I see. Ya hear that boys? They just wanted a quiet drink." His men laughed, knocking all of the civilians from their seats and chasing them from the bar. At least now they didn't have to worry about any bystander casualties. "See," the man sighed, pulling out a chair across from Jayne and sitting down, "folk 'round here don't take kindly to strangers."

"That so? Looks to me like they don't take too kindly to folks they know neither." Jayne smirked a bit, pouring himself another drink. He was trying to keep up the act, but River kept squeezing his arm, tighter and tighter. He was almost afraid she was going to lose it and go crazy.

Their target glared at Jayne and pulled his gun, aiming it directly at Jayne's chest. "Might wanna watch that mouth boy, or I might have to make ya watch while I have myself some fun with that little piece of _Pi Guy _ya got there."

Jayne smirked as River's hand left his, going unnoticed by everyone but Jayne as it slipped inside his jacket, reaching for her piece hiding there. His own hand was palming the gun on his hip. "You might wanna reconsider that."

"Why's that?"

Jayne tapped River's hip, the signal they'd worked out between the two of them. In perfect synchronization with each other they both pulled their weapons, pointing them at the target. "Because this little piece of _Pi Gu_ could drop you in one second flat," Jayne answered. His men, realizing what was going on all leapt from their chairs, weapons pointed at them. Jayne looked around, weighing his options. They could handle this, he didn't doubt that, but it was going to be tricky. "Oh, c'mon, ya'll can make it more fun than that, can't ya?"

One of the men knocked on the door and the other eight men came in, making a full twenty. Normally, Jayne wouldn't provoke the situation, as outnumbered as they already were, but he knew that if they were going to make it out of this as intact as possible, they needed to see exactly what they were up against with no surprises later on.

"How's this for fun?" Than gang leader rose from his seat, his gun never leaving Jayne's chest.

"Trigger, maybe you should just calm down."

"Shut up, ya old man." Trigger, the gang leader fired a warning shot at the bartender. "I'll get to you soon enough." He looked back at Jayne. "What do the two of you plan to do 'gainst all of us?"

Jayne smirked. "You'd be surprised what the two of us are capable of." He gave River a sideways glance. She nodded her head and without any more warning from each of the, they pulled their triggers firing at the men. Jayne and River tripped the table over and took cover behind it. "This go real fun real fast."

"In five second, move left, shoot right." Jayne followed River's call, ducking out from behind the table and firing, taking two men down. Jayne took a split second to look around the room at the guns.

"They've only got six shots a piece," he called out to River. This was going to be a lost faster than Jayne thought. He dodged another bullet and took out another of Trigger's men. River was handling herself just fine. As the bullets ran out, on both sides, River dropped another man; leaving only ten they had to deal with in a fist fight.

Trigger ran out of bullets and swore as he threw his gun to the ground. "Kill them!"

Jayne ducked under a punch, attacking with his own and caught the man in the gun. While he was doubled over Jayne slammed his head down onto his knee, knocking him out. Four men came at him at once. "Little sister!" He reached out, grabbing River's wrist. She grabbed his, securely locking their arms together. With little effort Jayne lifted her into the air, spinning her as she kicked out with her feet, taking the four men down with powerful blows to their heads.

He dropped River who landed with a dancer's grace and kept fighting. Jayne grunted when one of them grabbed him from behind while another caught him with a nasty right hook. He growled, twisting one of his arms free and punching the man in front of him. Jayne behind him, grabbing the bottom of the other man's shirt and pulled it over his head. He released Jayne who slammed his head into one of the tables that was still standing.

He looked up when no one else came running at him. Trigger was the only one left standing. River was standing behind him, waiting for word from Jayne. He nodded his head and watched as she swung her leg clear over her head and knocked him out, sending him head first into the edge of a table.

Jayne sighed and looked around at the mayhem they'd caused. "Well, that was fun." He looked over at the bartender. "You owe us some coin." He walked over and got the payment from Hans.

"Tell Mal I said thank you."

Jayne nodded and turned to look at River. He narrowed his eyes. Something was off about her. She was pale, really pale. She looked like she was going to be sick. "What's wrong?" he asked, walking over to her. She pulled one of her hands away from her side and Jayne saw the problem. Her hand and hip were covered in blood, and a lot of it. She'd gotten shot. "_Tzao Gao_," he breathed.

"Not good," she mumbled, her knees giving out from the blood loss.

Jayne rushed over and caught her before she hit the ground and scooped her up into his arms. He ran out of the bar, money tucked away in his pocket and jumped into the mule with River in his arms. "Keep pressure on it, I'll get ya back to your brother." He fired up the mule and wasted no time getting out of there. Damn it, this was Mal and Zoe's fault. Where the hell were they anyways?

The answer to that question came when they reached Serenity. Zoe and Mal were dragging dead bodies off the ship. They must have been attacked too. The second mule was gone though, so Kaylee and Simon must have gone to get the cargo. Mal and Zoe looked up and didn't see any of the blood, just the face that River was draped across Jayne's lap and he had an arm around her waist.

"What the hell is this?" Mal asked walking over as Jayne shut down the mule.

"She's shot, where's that _Tian Di Wu Young_ doctor?" Jayne held onto River as he climbed out of the mule and headed for the infirmary.

"He and Kaylee should be back soon," Zoe answered as she and Mal followed them back. Jayne laid River down on the bed and stood back so Mal and Zoe could take a look at her. Thankfully they knew what they were doing somewhat from the war.

"What happened?" Mal asked as he got things ready while Zoe pulled River shirt and pants out of the way.

"We had to face twenty of them all alone cause you two couldn't get your asses there," Jayne growled. "Didn't even tell me she was hurt." He paced nervously while Mal and Zoe examined the wound.

"Jayne, you're not helpin' us pacing like that go wait for the doc and Zoe to get back," Mal ordered. Jayne looked at him, and then looked at River nervously. He didn't know why, but for some reason he really didn't feel comfortable leaving her side. "Jayne." He looked over at Mal. "We'll take care of her 'til Simon gets here, but you need to let him know what's goin' on." Jayne growled and left the room, knowing that Mal was right.

xXx

River woke up slowly, taking in the area around her. When she blinked and saw the infirmary she almost lost it. She managed to calm herself before she started screaming and throwing things around. She wasn't with the Alliance; she was safe; she was onboard Serenity with her crew. She looked around and didn't see anyone, as she tried to stand up a sharp pain shot through her lower stomach. "_Ai ya_," she whined looking down to her hip where she'd been bandaged.

She poked the wound lightly and hissed as she stood from the bed. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was about dinner time. She was supposed to be on kitchen duty with Jayne tonight. Hoping he was the only one in the kitchen, and she didn't run into anyone else on the way there, she left the infirmary. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened. She'd read him when he'd been carrying her back to the ship and she'd found out something quite interesting about him. She needed to ask him about it when there wasn't anyone else around.

She walked into the kitchen to find him at the counter slicing up some bread for dinner. He looked up at her when she walked in, sensing her presence. "Hey, didn't expect to see ya up yet," he said adding bread to the basket. "How ya feelin'?" She shrugged and walked over, looking at what he was making to see what there was for her to do. Seeing that he had mostly everything under control she started setting the table. "Hey now, ya don't need to be doin' none of that."

"I'm not broken," she informed him, taking the plates to the table and passing them out. "I'm fine." She looked up at him through the curtain of her hair. He was watching her closely, making sure that she didn't drop in the middle of the floor. He was worried about her. "Jayne?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," she said looking over at him.

"For what?"

"Getting me back to the ship." River was reading him carefully as a light blush touched his cheeks. He was nervous, but he was also angry, and slightly turned on. "You're angry," she commented offhandedly.

"Gorram right I'm angry," he growled, bring the bread over to the table and setting it down. "You shouldda told me you was hurt."

River was confused. He was angry that she hadn't said that she'd been shot, yet on numerous occasions she'd seen him do the very same thing, forgoing notifying anyone of a wound until the job was done. Wasn't that what she was to do as well? It didn't make sense. Showing pain was a sign of weakness, and weakness wasn't tolerated, especially not aboard Serenity. "You wouldn't have," she finally countered.

Jayne stopped and looked at her. "What was that?"

"You wouldn't have said anything if you'd been shot, you would have waited until the job was done and we were back at the ship." River walked over to him. "Why should I be any different? Because I'm a girl?"

"Damn right."

River shook her head. "Pain is a sign of weakness, weakness is not an option." She danced around him and saved the rice he'd been cooking from boiling over and turned off the burner on the stove. "You know that as well as anyone else on this ship." She looked up at him and smiled. "Besides, I'm fine." Jayne sighed, but he knew she was right so he didn't start a fight and the anger in him ebbed away. She smiled and helped him set the table as everyone started to come in.

"River, you should be resting," Simon said looking at her, then glaring at Jayne. "What did you do, go get her to help you? She was shot."

River could sense the anger in Jayne rising again and stepped between the two men. "I woke up and came down here myself. He told me to go back to bed, I didn't listen. Do not yell at Jayne." She glared at Simon, daring him to challenge her. While her brother was happy she was better now, he still worried about her more than anything else. But even more than that, he knew not to pick a fight with her.

"Whatever," Simon mumbled and sat down beside Kaylee.

River smiled and sat between Mal and Jayne. "Feel alright little albatross?" Mal asked as he passed the bread to her.

"Fine," she nodded, taking a piece and passing it to Jayne. Dinner soon turned into story hour, Mal and Zoe sharing war tales, Kaylee talking about things that had happened to her before joining the crew, Simon talking about troublesome patients, Inara and Zoe fussing over the baby. River smiled and laughed with them as she ate, all the while staying keenly in tuned with Jayne. He was watching her, it didn't look like it, but he was. He was worried about her, but something else was on his mind. He wanted more details about what happened the night before. River got a perfectly naughty idea.

xXx

It was late, late enough for everyone to be in bed. Mal had left her in charge of plotting a course to Beaumonde where they would drop off the cargo and get paid. He wanted an easy route, no feds, no other ships, and no damn reavers. She could handle that easily enough. She took her time, making sure to choose the best way to get there, taking as much time as possible. She wanted to be the last one awake. Once she set autopilot she made her way out of the bridge and headed for the crew's bunks.

Stopping at Jayne's she opened the hatch and slipped down the ladder. Jayne was in bed, sleeping when she tiptoed into the bunk. She'd hidden away a bottle of whiskey and two glasses that she'd brought down with her. She set them on the table and leaned over Jayne. He looked almost…cuddly when he was asleep.

She giggled and leaned over, rubbing her index finger down the bridge of his nose, something she used to do to Simon when they were little and she wanted to wake him up. Jayne jumped reflexes and years of mercenary training working with him. He grabbed her with lightning quick movements and pinned her under him on the bed, his hunting knife against her throat. River didn't move, held her breath, waiting for him to realize who it was.

"River?" He blinked and pulled the knife away, running a hand through his short hair. "_Nee Tzao Se Mah_?"

"Not tonight," she answered with a smile. "I brought whiskey." She nodded her head in the direction of the small table on the other side of the bunk.

Jayne followed her not to the table. He sighed and climbed off of her, letting her sit up. "Gorram it girl, you can't just barge in here an wake a man when he's sleepin'." He ran a hand through his short hair and walked over to the whiskey, pouring some for the both of them. "This all ya came here for?"

"You said you wanted to know what happened last night." She took the glass he offered and drained it of its contents. "I came to tell you." She closed off her mind. She didn't want to read him for this.

He refilled their glasses and sat beside her on the bed. "I'm listenin'."

River started to tell him what happened in detail. They'd been drinking a lot, everyone except Zoe who'd gone back to the ship to take care of the baby. Mal and Inara had left next, gone to Inara's shuttle and locked the door. Simon and Kaylee left not long after that, leaving River and Jayne. River was dancing around the fire, enjoying the cool night air. Jayne was watching her. She told him she'd read him while he watched her. She knew he wanted her. She'd gone over to him and sat in his lap and kissed him.

"You carried me back to your bunk and we had wonderful, mind blowing sex"

Jayne sighed, staring at his lap. "Well I'll be a _liu kou shui de baio zi he hou zi de er zi_." He looked at her. "You're okay with that?"

River smiled. "I told you this morning I wouldn't mind doing it again." She moved the glass from his hand and put them back on the table with the whiskey. "What about you Jayne?" She turned around and looked at him, pulling her shirt over her head. "I know you want me, I read it on you all the time."

Jayne reached out, wrapping his hands around her waist. "_Wo yao teshu di diyu_," he whispered more to himself than anything as he pulled her onto his lap and buried his head in her neck.

"_Bi jweh_ and kiss me." River knew he didn't kiss, so when he actually listened to her and slanted his mouth across hers she was shocked beyond belief. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer to Jayne as his hands ran up her sides until he could cup her breasts in his hands. She moaned into his mouth, her body arching into his touch.

Without ceremony Jayne reached around her and ripped the bra open, pulling it off her shoulders and tossing it somewhere on the floor. River, not wanting to be the only one undressing, pulled his shirt from his belt and off his arms, letting it join the accumulating pile of clothes. She ran her nails down Jayne's chest, loving the feel of the light hairs that dusted the expanse of skin stretched taught over the muscles.

With quick precision Jayne rolled them, pinning her body to the bed under his and looked down at her. "You'll be the death of me."

River grinned up at him, her hands quickly undoing the belt at his waist. "Not tonight hopefully," she replied, letting the ends fall from her fingers as she slipped the button of his cargos from its mooring.

He smirked and sat back on his knees and looped his fingers into her belt loops, ridding her of the rest of her clothes in one quick tug. He laid himself out on the bed, his legs hanging over the edge as he settled himself between her legs, throwing them over his shoulders. He nuzzled her upper thigh as she broke out in a fit of giggles. "What's so funny now?"

"I remember you saying once that you don't kiss on the mouth. I couldn't figure out where you kissed then," she answered, her body arching under him as he blew a puff of air over her sex.

"Well, you're 'bout to find out." River saw stars when Jayne put his tongue to use against her sex. Jayne might have an uncivil tongue, but the things he could do with it were mind blowing. She reached between her legs, her fingers going to his hair, nails biting into his scalp. He moaned against her, sending a whole new level of pleasure through her. River felt like her nerve endings were on fire, burning up and sending molten lava through her veins as Jayne's tongue wrapped around her clit before pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it.

"Oh my god, Jayne!" River's back arched off the bed, her legs squeezing around his head. She wanted him to stop, she wanted more, and she wanted everything all at once. "Jayne, I need…" Oh god, what did she need?

"I've got ya, don't worry." Jayne moved his way up her body; leaving hot open-mouth kisses as he went. "Jayne's gonna take good care of ya." He settled his hips between her legs, taking hold of his aching length and guiding it to her dripping entrance. River arched her hips, trying to get him inside of her. She needed it and he was teasing her, moving just enough to glide against her, but never entering. She whined and pleaded with him, rocking her hips against his. Jayne smirked darkly as he eased inside of her, slowly.

River gripped his shoulders, clinging to him. She felt full, too full, so perfectly full and stretched. Jayne was hot inside of her, flaming the fires burning through her hotter and hotter. "Jayne," she cried out as he settled himself inside of her.

"You're so gorram tight," he ground out, rolling his hips against hers, hitting all kinds of places inside of her, only driving her closer and closer to that breaking point. He held her hips with a grip tight enough to bruise and River reveled in that thought. He pulled out slowly, nearly completely and she felt so empty, until he slammed back inside of her River's back arched off the bed, her fingers clawing at the sheets. She needed more. She was so close as Jayne rocked in and out of her, slamming into her channel and driving them closer and closer to the edge of pure bliss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down, slanting her lips across his and did something she thought she could, but never tried. She linked their minds together, so he could experience what she was, and she could experience what he was. That was what did it. Sent them both crashing over the edge. Jayne growled, the grip on her hips intensifying. River cried out into his mouth, her nails digging into his back, drawing blood. The waves of ecstasy carried her for ever and ever, never dropping her, like flying through space. She was never letting Jayne go, and she knew, she belonged to him, as long as he would have her.

xXx

Jayne walked into the dining area and smiled across the room at River. She was sitting in her usual seat between his and Mal, waiting for him. He walked over to the counter, getting two glasses of water and bringing her one. She took it with a small thank you and handed him the bread basket as it was passed to him. Jayne knew everyone was watching them closely. Confused as to what was going on. "Jayne?" Mal asked. "You feelin' alright?"

Jayne looked at River with a smirk that only she would understand. "Just a whiskey hangover."

* * *

Translation Key

Yeh Lu Jwo Dou Luh Jwohn Whei Jian Guay: Attributing an unfortunate or longshot occurence.  
Wo Pi Gu Cao: My ass is fucked.  
Wo Cao: I'm fucked  
Mei-Mei: Little sister  
Kan Wo Men Zen Me Si Ba: Let's see how we're going to die  
Whai W'rin Bu Jwo: Things never go smooth  
Pi Gu: Ass  
Tzao Gao: Oh, crap  
Tian Di Wu Young: Completely useless  
Ai Ya: Damn  
Nee Tzao Se Mah? : You wanna die?  
Liu kou shui de bia zi he hou zi de er zi: son of a drooling whore and a monkey  
Wo yao teshu di diyu: I'm going to the special hell  
Bi jweh: shut up


End file.
